Dialog box positions in Windows [Editor windows at center of screen instead of on top of 1Password]

JohnHind

Some of your dialog boxes in Windows pop up centred on the screen rather than on the 1Password window. On a modern, large, high resolution screen (let alone multiple monitors!) this can make them easy to miss as a very small additional window opens way outside the area on which your attention is focussed. An example of this is editing the URL from the 1Password stand-alone app (rather than in a browser extension). Also it is important that all windows and dialogs identify the program to which they belong - in this example the title bar of the dialog just reads "URL" which is not enough context!

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1Password Version: 4.6.0.582 (12)
Extension Version: 4.6.0.582
OS Version: Windows 8.1
Sync Type: local (USB Drive)

MikeT

Hi @JohnHind,

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions.

An example of this is editing the URL from the 1Password stand-alone app (rather than in a browser extension).

That's strange, it should be centering from the main program's window boundary, not the screen. I've been moving this around on my Hi-DPI screen and I can confirm that it is centering from the 1Password's boundary, meaning that it is never opened outside of the program's boundary.

Every dialog from the main program should be centered based on the program's boundary, not the screen, regardless of the resolution or monitor and that's what I'm seeing here on Windows 8.1.

Do you use a program on your computer to manage your windows for you? I wonder if we're getting wrong information on where to center the dialosg.

Also it is important that all windows and dialogs identify the program to which they belong - in this example the title bar of the dialog just reads "URL" which is not enough context!

I agree. One thing is that 1Password is a single-document program, every window only stems from the previous window dealing with the same item and it is not possible to open multiple windows at the same time. However, it would be useful to add more contextual details to the dialogs.

Thanks for the suggestion. Hopefully, we can figure out what's going on with your program windows.

JohnHind

Thanks for the reply, @MikeT,

There is no special window management on my computer, it is raw Windows 8.1 and in fact it has been very recently reloaded from scratch. If I open 1Password from the tiles its main window appears where it was positioned when last closed. Clicking the edit button on a Login the "Login" dialog appears - this seems to be at the location where it was last OK'd so it can be outside the main window. Now pressing the "Edit URL" button and the "URL" dialog appears centred on the screen. This dialog does not seem to remember its position if moved before being OK'd, but always appears centred on the screen regardless of the position of the other windows. The "Login" dialog has a 1Password icon top left, while the "URL" dialog has no icon or any identification of the owning program. I'm guessing the former is a custom dialog window while the latter is a text edit control supplied by your windows toolkit.

AlexHoffmann

I'm trying to think what other software might interfere with this. Are you by any chance using a special software for your mouse?

JohnHind

I have a Logitech Wireless All-in-One Keyboard TK820 (has an attached touchpad) with their SetPoint software. Control Center Version 6.65.62, Driver version 5.80.4. On the Windows System control panel applet, "Pen and Touch" is identified as "Single Touch Support".

MikeT

Hi @JohnHind,

Is this the only PC you have? I was wondering if you can reproduce it on a separate PC that doesn't have that software installed.

We've seen issues with Logitech drivers before, various different UI glitches but we didn't see the windowing issues like what you're saying.

If it is possible, can you uninstall the software, restart and see if it will behave properly?

Also, does SetPoint have any settings for moving windows around or supporting custom mouse gestures? I've seen a related software that includes moving windows around based on the mouse gestures and/or shortcuts.

JohnHind

I've tried it on my Windows 8.1 tablet (Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 8"). It's less obvious since the screen is less than twice the size of the main 1Password Window, but I think the behavior is the same:

1. The URL dialog always appears centered on the screen, it can be moved anywhere on the screen but next time it still re-appears centered (its position is not stored). It is possible to move the other windows partially off screen and then the URL dialog, centered on the screen, appears outside the boundaries of either the main window or the Login window - this is the main problem on the large screen, but is not a problem on the small tablet screen since the center is never far from the main window.

2. The Login edit dialog initially appears centered on the main 1Password window, but it can be moved anywhere on the screen. This position is remembered and used next time the dialog is opened (even when the main window is closed and reopened). The main window similarly (but independently) has its positioned stored. When the windows are moved partially off screen as above, they still reappear partially off screen. This is potentially a big problem if the screen boundaries change between runs of the program. Most programs that restore window positions from the registry (or a settings file) check to ensure the restored position is fully on screen.

Can you describe how the behavior you see (and the intended behavior) differs from the above? Is it possibly the touch support that makes the difference? As I noted, for some reason this is enabled on the desktop machine even though it does not have a touch screen (only a touchpad used for pointer control). If so, this is still going to be a problem since touch is becoming increasingly popular. It does not seem to be due to the Logitech driver (which is not present on the Lenovo), except that it may be this that puts the desktop into touch mode. The Logitech driver does have some window control gestures, but I have disabled them all.

MikeT

Hi @JohnHind,

I think I reproduced the problem and I will file a bug report.

1. I got the URL dialog to show up in the middle of the screen consistently now.
2. We only store the location temporarily and closing the 1Password window won't clear it. It is only cleared if you terminate it via the File Menu > Exit. Once it does, it'll pop up in the center of the program. This issue isn't an easy to fix; multiple monitors, different resolutions and so on have hindered the accuracy of this. We will keep working on this.

JohnHind

Thanks @MikeT,

I sympathize! IMHO the whole concept of the overlapped window is past its expiry date. We should be moving to single windows with dynamic content in non-overlapping panes more like web pages. For example, in 1Password the edit window would simply overlay the bottom right content pane and the URL field would edit in place.

MikeT

Hi @JohnHind,

We agree, we'd like to modernize the interface to do everything inline, that'd resolve all of the issues here. It'd be nice to do the same in the extensions as well.